What Happened to the Average Man?
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010In the not so distant past, friends and colleagues would meet each other over a weekly poker table. No one was very good at the game, but the charm lied in the camaraderie and a chance to get away from the wives for a night. We have lost this kind of home game with internet poker online and big business casinos. The lingering nostalgia for cigar smoke and a folding table, however, reveals an even deeper issue for the poker world: we have lost the average man. There are no longer players who pick up the poker cards for a casual game among friends. Now we have sharks and fish, donkeys and ox, and a whole assortment of other animal themed nicknames. Everyone is expected to either be a pro, or actively working towards pro status. As a new player, you are expected to study strategy and playing guides before you even get to the table. You would be laughed out of the casino if you sat down at the felt and asked your buddy next to you to explain the game. Personally, I resent the gradual eradication of the Average Man poker player. I think that there was a certain charm to taking poker as a game that is lost when you see it as a money making business. The loss of the Average Man shows more than anything that poker today is not the same game that I grew up on.